Why Dale Earnhardt Jr. cherishes his 2 wins at Pocono Raceway

Now in the back half of the NASCAR Cup Series season, every race Dale Earnhardt Jr. competes in will (probably) be his last time here and his last time there before he retires at the end of the season from full-time racing.

Sunday for the Overton’s 400, it will be Junior’s last time at Pocono Raceway, also known as the Tricky Triangle.

“I remember going out there around the track for the first time and thinking, ‘Man, this place is hard,'” he said.

At only his fourth time driving at the track – it was the second race there of the 2001 season – Earnhardt finished second and surprised himself. He thought the challenges of the track’s three turns – each modeled after three different tracks – would make racing there for him a “labor of love” and take more experience to finish near the top.

Pocono Raceway (Google Earth screenshot)

Eventually, he won his first race there in 2014 and ended up sweeping both events that year.

“I’m glad to have a win there because I know it’s a technical track. I know that if you win there, you get credit as a driver. It ain’t all race car at that place. You gotta be able to get around that place.”

Junior swept both races at the Pennsylvania track during the 2014 season.

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